


I'll Be Your Mirror

by indevan



Series: A Matter of Trust [2]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 18:46:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indevan/pseuds/indevan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tamlen learns that giving into peer pressure is not a good idea (also there's a bear).</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Your Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> since their origin wasn't portrayed in the story proper here is a side story featuring Theron and Kierin, whom I have lovingly dubbed "the trash elves."

The forest path wound in front of them but they didn’t need it.  Their Clan had only been in these woods for a few weeks but already they were familiar.  Not that these woods were that different from any of the other forests where Theron had grown up.  The only difference was that time they camped near the Brecilian Forest with its twists and turns but, during that time, he had been too young to venture in the woods by himself.

Now, despite being familiar with the path that curved around them, uneasiness gnawed at his stomach.  Something was wrong, he could sense it.

“Let’s head back,” he said, not for the first time. “Tell the Keeper.”

Kierin scoffed and didn’t bother looking over his shoulder to address him as he marched forward.

“I wasn’t aware you were such a coward, lethallin!”

Theron ground his teeth together and balled his fists.

“I am not!”

Tamlen stopped for a moment and turned round to face him.

“I just have a bad feeling about this cave,” he said, voice softer.

Tamlen nodded and pressed a kiss gently against his forehead.

“We’re just checking it out, emma lath.  It’ll be fine.”

His hands reached out to stroke Theron’s upper arms and the motion calmed him, if only a little.

“I want to go back,” he said and looked down, away.  He felt like a foolish child but there was a feeling of impending doom bearing down on him.

“If you go, I’ll go with you.”

Tamlen smiled that sweet, wide smile he reserved only for him.  To others--especially Kierin--he was abrasive and rude but he always showed Theron his soft side.

“You’re both cowards!”

Kierin called this out in a mocking tone.  He had turned around and was walking backwards, hands flared around his mouth to further amplify his words.

“Kee, stop it!”

He pouted and flipped his hair over his shoulder.  Tamlen pulled him close and smirked at Kierin.

“You’re only even here because Theron insisted that you tag along.” He crossed his eyes and waggled his tongue at him. “Like always.”

Kierin stumbled but caught himself before he fell.  His hazel eyes sparked with challenge and Theron knew he would have to mediate yet another fight between his lover and blood-brother.

“Stop it,” he snapped petulantly. “Both of you.”

Tamlen and Kierin continued glaring at one another and Theron sighed.  He was already feeling awful but this on top of it was making things worse.

“I am feeling sick,” he said and coughed into his hand. “Let’s go back.”

“You are not a very good actor, emma lath,” Tamlen said with a chuckle.

“Unless you’re seducing someone,” Kierin added.

Theron pouted and folded his arms.  He didn’t want to go to this supposed cave but he realized that he didn’t have a choice.  He wasn’t getting his way and that was the worst thing.

\--

The atmosphere in the cave--no, the ruins--was worse.  Theron could feel it hovering between the air.  Almost tangible.  Worse still were the spiders.  He hated those giant spiders.  He wasted good arrows on them when they didn’t even have anything salvageable.  Oh, sure, he could use their fangs as jewelry but that got boring.

“Can we go?” he asked irritably.

Tamlen stopped and turned, eyebrows raised.

“Aren’t you curious, emma lath?  If we could find something here about our past--our history--we could be heroes!  They would write ballads for us.”

Theron turned up his nose and said, “Who cares?  It smells here, it’s cold, and it’s...evil here!  Can’t you both feel it?”

Tamlen and Kierin exchanged a look and then shook their heads.  He scowled.  Great, of all the times for them to finally agree on something.  Kierin turned away from them and examined one of the crumbling statues in the chamber they were in.

“It’s so amazing...our history…”

That got him to roll his eyes.  Kierin was big on Elven history.  He was always showing off at their lessons, waving his hand in the air to get the Hahren’s attention.  Whenever he complained about it, Kierin accused him of being jealous since Paivel always caught him fooling around during lessons.

“Look.” Theron put his hands on his hips and tossed his head back to shake his hair off his shoulders. “We found out that those shem weren’t lying.  Let’s just go back.  Bring the others--bring the Keeper.”

“No way!” Kierin swept his hand off of the statue and jabbed a finger at him. “We need to be sure that there’s more to it.  That there’s something to show.”

“But...the feeling…”

Theron rubbed his own arms, unable to shake the chill in the air.  How could they not feel it?  Maybe they just couldn’t recognize it.  To him, it was the same feeling he got after the dreams where he woke up in the Beyond.  Tamlen was looking at him, concerned.

“Maybe…” He glanced to the side and saw Kierin’s mocking eye.  Immediately he scowled. “Come on.  There has to be more to explore.”

“Fine.  I’ll go back by myself.”

Theron turned on his heel and started to leave.  A hand clamped down on the crook of his arm to get him to stop.

“Wait, lethallin.  You can’t walk back by yourself.”

He wrenched his arm free and glared.

“I know these woods better than you do, Kee.  I’ll be fine.  If you both want to fuck around in these ruins, that’s fine.  Have your pissing contest about how isn’t afraid.  I’m going to get the Keeper.”

Kierin ignored the inelegant way he spoke.  Most of them did.  Theron hated the misconception that all Dalish had to speak as though they were from an ancient tale of the Hahren’s.  Still, he could do without his elders glaring at him every time he swore.

“What if you pass out in the forest?” he asked.

With a growl of anger, Theron seized his hand and brought it to his forehead.

“No fever,” he said and dropped it.  Kierin’s arm swung back to his side. “Have fun, you two.”

“Emma lath…”

Tamlen sounded wounded and Theron was jelly for that tone in his voice.  Still, he had his dignity.  He turned round and put his hands on his hips.

“Yes?”

He stepped up to him and lifted his hand near Theron’s hair.  He tilted his chin down in permission and Tamlen ran his fingers through it.

“Is something wrong?”

He sighed and said, “Yes.  You’re both acting like fledgelings right now.  And these ruins are creepy and I don’t care if we find out more about our history because I want to get out of here!”

As he spoke, his words became more hurried and pitchy, his voice kicking up on the edge as his throat closed.  Why couldn’t Tamlen and Kierin feel it?  Why was he the only aware of how still and awful the air was here?

“It’s death.  This place reeks of death.”

“You’re imagining things.”

Kierin walked over and tweaked his nose.

“Didn’t you have a cold this morning, stuffy nose?”

Theron batted his hand away and scowled.

“What is wrong with the both of you?” he demanded.

Tamlen gently brought the tips of his fingers on the breast of Theron’s armor, right over his heart.

“We’re just going to explore.  It’ll be alright.  You can wait outside, though.  If it’s bothering you.”

He clenched his jaw.  As much as he wanted to get out of there, he didn’t want to leave Kierin and Tamlen alone.  They never got along and it was usually only through his interference that bloodshed managed to be avoided.

“And let you two kill each other bickering over who gets to take credit for finding these ruins?  Pfft.”

He moved his hand away from himself and leaned forward to kiss Tamlen gently on the lips.

“I’m not happy being here but I’d be even less happy if I lost one of you.”

The corners of Tamlen’s mouth twitched a little when Kierin was included in the statement but he said nothing.  Instead, the three of them ventured deeper into the ruins.

\--

“I told you both this place was death.  I told you but did you listen to me?  Noo!  Let’s not listen to Theron.  Oh, Theron just has a cold or something.  Poor little sick baby.  Oh, Theron it’s just a cave--let’s explore!”

Kierin tapped his foot impatiently.

“Are you done?”

“No.  Those were living skeletons, Kee.  What did I tell you, there’s a rip in the…” He scrunched his nose up. “That thing.  Between us and the Beyond.”

“The Veil,” Tamlen supplied.

“Yeah, that.”

At that, Kierin rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“Whatever.  There were probably a bunch of bugs in them or something.  The Veil isn’t torn.”

Tamlen glowered at him.

“Do you enjoy being arbitrarily skeptic?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re always talking about how there’s a ‘logical’ explanation for things when we know for a fact that we live surrounded by magic.”

“Magic,” Kierin said, narrowing his eyes, “is real.  Ghosts...demons...Veil tears...I don’t think so.”

Theron stepped between them to head off a fight and pointed to the ornate door in front of them.

“Let’s just go in there, see what’s there, and go back?  Alright?”

He glared between them and marched to the door.  He paused and immediately crouched down into a fighting stance.  Behind him, he heard the crunch of leather armor that signaled Tamlen was doing the same.

“What?” Kierin asked.

“There’s some kind of animal on the other side of the door,” Theron replied. “A bear, I think.”

Tamlen had his sword and shield down, his eyes hard.  Despite everything, he felt a surge of energy southward.  Tamlen always looked so good in a battle position.

Kierin took his sword from his shoulder and eased it into both hands.  Unlike the two of them, he had been trained as a warrior--in defense.  Carefully, Theron eased open the door and readied his knives.  He was sick of wasting arrows in this place.

The creature that raced towards them may have been a bear.  It was bear-shaped, at least.  Strange, spike-like growths protruded from all over its body and yellow eyes rolled in its head.  He struck it first, digging his knife into its shoulder.  The muscles were thick, coiled, and his blade got lodged there.  The creature’s great paw came at him and Theron dodged, letting go of the hilt of the knife.  He could get it--hopefully--after this thing was felled.

Still the paw came at him and Tamlen moved in front of him, deflecting the blow with his shield.  He saw his elbows bunch up as the weight of the bear’s blow hit the curved ironbark.  Theron swung with his offhand knife and slashed the bear across the arm.  Kierin was coming at it, swinging from behind with his big sword.  Seeing the blade flash in the dim light, Theron flipped back onto his hands and swung his body over them.  Kierin leapt onto the bear’s back and drove his sword between its shoulder blades.  It roared in agony and Tamlen took it as his chance to drag his sword over its throat.  Blackish blood poured from the wound and the beast stumbled.  Its paws slipped in the slick blood that began to coat the floor of the cave.  Kierin twisted his blade and finally it stilled.

“What…” Tamlen asked, out of breath, “was that thing?”

Kierin climbed off of the bear’s carcass and began cleaning the blade of his sword on its matted, clumped fur.

“A bear.”

“That was not a bear.”

Theron wrenched his knife from the bear’s shoulder and decided not to get involved.

“You’re both right,” he said instead. “It was a bear but...not a bear.”

They both stared at him incredulously.

“Never mind,” he huffed, wiping the blade on the side of his leather leggings.

That strange, cold feeling had settled back over his shoulders and Theron shivered.  At once, he noticed something in the middle of the chamber.  Having been distracted by the bear, he hadn’t seen it earlier.  A large mirror was erected on a raised platform in the center of the chamber.  Unlike everything else in the ruins, it was clean.  Too clean.

“It’s beautiful,” Tamlen whispered next to him. “What do you think that writing on the frame means?”

“Don’t touch the glass?” Theron joked back weakly.

“Very funny.”

He started walking towards it, eyes alight.

“Tam, stop.”

He waved a hand back.

“I’ll be fine, emma lath.  I’m just taking a look.”

He mounted the stairs behind him, feeling more than nervous.  Kierin followed up in the rear.

“Aren’t you curious why it’s so pristine?  Why it’s here?”

Theron shook his head.

“No.  Let’s go back now.  Alright?  We’ll tell the Keeper about the mirror and--”

“Do you see that?!” Tamlen exclaimed.

Theron could only see their reflections in the mirror.

“It’s a city...a darkness…

“Go on,” Kierin said. “Touch it.”

Tamlen placed his hand on the glass, his gaze fixed and mesmerized.

“Stop!”

“It’s beautiful.  Emma lath...Kierin, come look!”

“We should--”

Tamlen jumped back, bumping into him and cutting him off mid-sentence.

“It saw me!  I...I can’t look away!”

Theron tried to ask him what it was but a bright light engulfed them all and he was thrown back by a sudden impact.  He fell onto the floor of the chamber.  Kierin landed next to him and that was the last thing he saw before darkness overtook him.


End file.
